Any Regrets with your LO's?

If you are a BTDT mom, or a FTM who has already looked back at the past 16 months and saw things you wish you could go back and change, what are they? A recent post made me think of this as I put this in my response. It just made me curious how many others can see places you had good intentions but it ended up being a mistake.

My ODD was a brilliant baby early on. I mean ridiculously smart. As a FTM I had not been around babies that much, and she was my pride and joy, sigh!! I didn't have any experience around smaller children to compare her to though, I just knew everyone was telling me how advanced she was, and I started to realize she really was. When I look back now, I see how DH and I pushed her harder than we should have on things at a young age, simply because she acted like she grasped things. I didn't realize it then, but then we had YDD, I see her at this age and think Wow, I was already past getting ODD to do this, say this, understand this.. It makes me sad to think I may have expected too much or pushed too hard :( . It really was a different experience with her. That being said, she is in 1st grade and already reading on a 3rd grade level, has been completely potty trained since before her 2nd birthday, and is an unmatched social butterfly lol!! I am SO extremely proud of her and I love her so much it hurts my heart. But if I could go back, I would understand that just because a lot of things sunk in to her very early, that didn't mean everything would, KWIM? We all have strong and weak points. I think we all have things we see clearer in hindsight though.

Sorry this turned out so long, but I would love to hear if anyone has anything to share =)

Comments (14)

Mine is very different, but I pumped and my husband fed our son all his bottles, now he only wants daddy and I feel like he could care less if I'm here. My August 2012 baby only wants me and my August 2011 son never wanted me more than his daddy, if I could go back I would have taken over more, and tried to get more bonding in with him..

I wish we would have rotated bedtime when she was small. At nearly 17 mos, she will only go to bed (without a long fight) for me. With #2, I'll be pumping & letting DH take over night feeding every other day or so.

I wish I would have tried harder to BF my son. I still think it was the right choice considering all of the other BIG changes right after he was born, but I always wish I could have succeeded.

I have the same issues with LO going to bed for me better than DH, but I couldn't have changed that if I wanted (and secretly I like that it's my job to put him to bed). DH was gone for so long that it had to be me!

I do wish I hadn't stressed over every milestone though. Poor guy. Momma freaked on every little thing. He just needed/needs a little extra time to learn things.

My biggest regret was that I didn't realize that LO had a rash on her face for almost a month when she was little.. maybe a month or two old. We went to the pedi right after it 'started' and he said oh- a little baby acne (and it probably was at that point). Then the acne exploded and was all over her face. I just thought it was a lot of acne.I brought her in for her next checkup and he said- oh she has sebhorrea dermatitis. I treated it once and it went away. I felt so bad.

My regret with my dd who's my first is doing things you're "supposed" to do. I wish I would have been more AP with her. I never made her CIO but I was very set on "she MUST sleep in her crib, must eat all her food and in her high chair," etc. She was an amazing sleeper so it wasn't much of an issue but I knew nothing about sleep regression's, etc and if she had an off few nights I would get so frustrated. I also felt guilty about nursing her to sleep and was in a rush to get her to sleep on her own. I wish I had been more prepared, researched more and not listened to my mom who was a "you have to show her who's boss just leave her in her crib she'll get the message she's manipulating you" type. I never followed much of her advice but I always felt guilty like I was spoiling my daughter and I was "weak" or coddling her.
But my August lo changed everything and I'm about as AP as can be with him and my dd too. (And all that rigidity failed anyway because she now naps with me and ds and sleeps on the couch). So I am very thankful for that. I think a lot had to do with being experienced and maturing a bit too.
my regret with my ds is I've been sick and having surgeries since he was 6 months. Nothing to do about it but I feel like his life has been a haze of me feeling like crap.

I regret always worrying about every little thing. I wish I would have realized God has always been in control, and I should just enjoy my life:) I also wish I could have bf for a whole year, and I will with my next baby. I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life and I am looking forward to 2013 being even more exciting with my best friend my dd.

We had complications when I was pregnant with YDD and there was a chance delivery could go very wrong and there was nothing anyone could do about it. I didn't let myself get as close to YDD and cherish the time being pregnant with her as much as I should have because I was scared I'd lose her. That's my biggest regret. Even once she arrived, I never really soaked in the new baby awesomeness and enjoyed her as much as I should have. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed her, but taking care of an almost 2 year old and having been standoffish with YDD when pregnant just led me to not embrace every snuggle as much as I did with ODD. Trying to make up for that now and making sure I don't do the same thing this time since I'm due again in August this year.

My regret is not having an enjoyable pregnancy. I had severe prenatal depression and my first OB swept me under the rug. She never once asked about my mental state and treated me like I was the plague. I switched at 35 weeks--IMO, 35 weeks too late.
I never Breastfed her because of catastrophic chances of developing PPD. Even though she's a smart and advanced little girl, I still feel regret for not giving her breast milk instead of formula. However, I had to take care of my mental health first; baby came second.